Monday, April 29, 2013

Learning To Be Thankful Again


Today was a day to rejoice in a group of believers finding direction for their future while continuing to seek God for His leading in mine.  It is very easy to thank God for the things you want. It is more difficult to thank Him for things that come that you don’t want or for others getting what you may have wanted. The reality of life is that it does rain on everyone. Sometimes that rain is a gentle welcome one while at other times it is a destructive deluge. But it is our loving God who superintends the rain and He knows every bit of it that He allows to fall on us or even not to fall. Our God is also a loving God who works in all of His children to accomplish His purposes and He even does this for our good as we seek Him and follow His direction for our lives. This even means that when you wanted some rain on your direction and it rained somewhere else that our loving God had is strong hand in it. Just as it means the opposite.

We need to be constantly mindful that our God is sovereign over absolutely everything, and that all that we have really belongs to Him and He is free to use it as He chooses. This includes our lives. But it is also incredibly encouraging to know that our God does this with a great love for us. Today Sarah writes about our learning thankfulness from Him.  Being thankful is an informed choice.

Today in “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young (4/29)

Let Me teach you thankfulness. Begin by acknowledging that everything – all your possessions and all that you are – belongs to Me. The dawning of each new day is a gift from Me, not to be taken for granted. The earth is vibrantly alive with My blessings, giving vivid testimony to My Presence. If you slow down your pace of life, you can find Me anywhere.

Some of My most precious children have been laid aside in sick beds or shut away in prisons. Others have voluntarily learned the discipline of spending time alone with Me. The secret of being thankful is learning to see everything from My perspective. My world is your classroom. By Word is a lamp to your feet and a light for your path.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28-29

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

No comments: